20 April, 2017

The largest US marines deployment in Afghanistan since 2014

With
the US seeking to slow the mounting losses by the Afghan military in
the southern Helmand Province, the Pentagon has announced a
deployment of roughly 300 US Marines to the province, with the
fighters expected to arrive by the end of the month.

The
deployment marks the largest single deployment of US Marines in
occupied Afghanistan since 2014, which reflects the Afghan military’s
growing woes in combat. These troops will join smaller numbers the US
had already deployed into the area, who were nominally “advisers.”

And
while officially, the new Marines are also “advise-and-assist”
troops that are being sent in a non-combat role, Col. Matthew Reid
confirmed that the Marines are always deployed “with a combat
mindset.” Given how poorly the Afghan military has done on its own,
it wouldn’t be surprising to find the Marines in combat situations.

Large
numbers of US and British soldiers were deployed in Helmand earlier
in the war, but officials had withdrawn them largely in the
transition away from direct combat missions. Since then, Helmand has
been among the major targets of the Taliban, and they’ve captured
large portions of the province.